Publications
Publications
- 2022
- HBS Working Paper Series
Shaping Nascent Industries: Innovation Strategy and Regulatory Uncertainty in Personal Genomics
By: Cheng Gao and Rory McDonald
Abstract
For a new market category to materialize, someone must actively bring it into existence. Yet it remains a mystery how entrepreneurs, whose resources are stretched thin, can accomplish this task. Prior research emphasizes the importance of market-shaping efforts—evangelism—but overlooks its impact on ventures. Through an inductive multiple-case study of a new financial-technology category, I develop theory centered on how entrepreneurs use cultural resources during category formation. My framework describes how the use of such resources co-evolves with the nascent category, influencing ventures’ own trajectories. I also identify ways in which market-shaping activities can rebound back at a venture unexpectedly, contributing to organizational inertia and inflexibility. I pursue the contributions of the framework and discuss its implications for research on category-creating innovations, cultural entrepreneurship, and strategy in nascent markets.
Keywords
Technological Change; Innovation; Qualitative Methods; New Categories; Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Risk and Uncertainty; Strategy
Citation
Gao, Cheng, and Rory McDonald. "Shaping Nascent Industries: Innovation Strategy and Regulatory Uncertainty in Personal Genomics." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-095, March 2020. (Revised January 2022. Accepted for publication at Administrative Science Quarterly.)